Panzer Battles 2 - The Official Teaser Thread

[Strela]

Using the force is definitely overkill.

So much overkill that I just lost a long post here and have to start again. This new forum software is pretty flaky


This week we are going to share the third tranche of scenarios. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and this one typifies these scenarios;




We're sharing another ten scenarios this week;






The end of June 1944 saw the British attempt their most ambition operation in Normandy yet. Jeff Conner has become our resident anglophile (he authored Squad Battles - Falklands) and is responsible for almost as many scenarios as the irrepressible Rick Bancroft.

Jeff has modelled the British doctrine used in the Epsom battles very well. The British forces fought an 'attrition' battle where units would move forward and once pinned, dig in and hold the ground that was taken. Follow up units would call in artillery on the enemy defensive points and then 'pass through' their dug in comrades and continue to push the attack forward. If they ran into trouble they would repeat the process.

As a doctrine this approach was good in concept but resulted in confusion and units in disarray when trying to pass through friendly formations while under fire.

Jeff's first scenario in the Epsom compendium is Operation Martlet. Martlet was designed to both take ground and draw German reserves away from the Epsom attack zones that were planned for the following day. Though only a brigade equivalent on both sides, this scenario runs for 24 turns.

As usual bigger versions of these maps can be seen with a touch device or by right clicking;






The first day of Epsom saw the largest concentration of Commonwealth units in one area in the Normandy campaign to date. The highlighted units are all fixed and only available later in the scenario. Some units will also become fixed based on the historical schedule on when they were committed and withdrawn from combat. This really was a very big scenario that Jeff worked on, but it's obvious how few units are actually available to use in the early turns;






This really is a truck load of United Kingdom soldiery!






The second day of Epsom saw the British grinding forward. The British were leading with their armour to conserve their infantry strength and were paying a high price for the vulnerability of their Sherman tanks. In this 27 turn scenario, the British are about to run into the defences around Coleville. The Germans utilised the railroad cutting in the area as an impromptu tank ditch funnelling the British attack. Highlighted units again designate fixed troops at the beginning of the scenario;






Here is a closer look at the railway cutting area;






On the third day of the Epsom Operation, British armour had managed to cross the Orne River and were in position to capture one of their key objectives - Point 112. The battered German forces had managed to funnel the British into a small area forcing them attack on a fairly narrow frontage. This resulted in fire from both flanks and losses for units that were trying to move forward and cross the Orne. The third day is another 27 turn scenario;






Here is a closer look at the British forces crossing at Tourmauville;






The fourth and final day of Epsom graphically shows why the operation ended in defeat for Montgomery. The II SS Panzer Korp with 9th & 10th SS Panzer Divisions had been moved from Russia to form the basis of the forces Hitler intended to use to push the Allies back into the sea. The pending British breakthrough at Point 112 resulted in the new SS Divisions being committed to pushing the British back. Here you can see the German forces forming up on the flanks of the British salient. II SS Korp is coming in from the south west;






In this closer view you can see how exposed the British are on Point 112 and the possibility that they will be caught with the Orne River to their backs;






Finishing up with Epsom, the British pulled back to lick their wounds. A few days later the Canadians attacked Carpiquet Airfield which had fired upon the flank of the advancing British the previous week. Operation Windsor is a 28 turn scenario designed by Kevin Hankins that shows the desperate defence the Hitlerjugend put up against the Canadians;






For a complete change of pace we move over to the American sector on July 11th, where the newly arrived Panzer Lehr Division counterattacks to stop the US VII Corps that had moved south after their Cherbourg success and were threatening to envelope St Lo from the west. Panzer Lehr was committed at night to avoid the Allied control of the air, but the close range fighting nullified many of the German advantages. The M-10 tank destroyers of the 9th Infantry Division were particularly effective at ambushing the heavier German tanks. Though initially successful, the Germans had little to show for the attack a day later;






In this closer view, you can see how the Germans lead with their heavy armour, overwhelming the surprised American defenders. The German failure to mop up the isolated defenders was to cause problems when the sun rose;






The final scenario for today is the clearing of Hill 192. By coincidence, while Panzer Lehr counterattacked to the west near the Vire River, the US 2nd Infantry Division tried to capture Hill 192. The 3rd Fallschirm-Jaeger Division had held the hill since D-Day. This high ground allowed both the beaches at Utah and Omaha to be clearly seen and targeted. An attempt to take the hill in late June had failed disastrously with heavy casualties and the American's went away and perfected their infantry/tank co-operation. The second attempt at taking the hill showed the value of the training done. This 10 turn scenario was originally intended to be the 'Getting Started' scenario and should be used as a good introduction to Bocage fighting;






As mentioned last week, there is something for everyone here and a much broader range of military situations than we were able to portray with Kursk.

Have a great weekend all,

David